Men's manicure: how to do it and the best products

There is a common misconception that all techniques related to beauty and personal care are exclusively the prerogative of the female gender. That it is absolutely not necessary for men to monitor the condition of the skin of their hands, carefully trim and polish their nails. And men's manicure is considered almost forbidden and shameful. But this is far from true! Well-groomed male hands speak loudly about self-esteem and character. They complete a representative, respectable image and attract the favorable attention of ladies.

Abroad, men who want to look perfect take good care of their hands. And regular visits to a nail specialist, the use of caring and decorative products is not something unusual. A new concept has even come into use: “menicure”, a derivative of the English “man” and “manicure”. In recent years, the fashion for well-groomed men's hands has come to Russia. Representatives of the stronger sex have realized the convenience and practicality of nail design and its multifaceted possibilities.

Of course, modern techniques for men's nail design are radically different from women's. It is often unnoticeable and relies on the natural beauty of the nail plates. However, any chosen technique invariably creates an overall feeling of sleek, aristocratic hands.

Fashion trends for 2021-22 offer men brutal, quite bright and interesting looks.

2022 trends for men's manicure

If in past years nail care was limited to standard, minimally necessary procedures, this season they have been supplemented with stylish design. After the procedures of removing the cuticle, forming a free edge and polishing, nail experts offer to apply a decorative coating and choose an exclusive decor. At the same time, the nails remain distinctly masculine, without any hint of glamor. Trending:

discreet geometry;
drawings in various themes, including imitation tattoos;
single-color and two-color coatings.

The choice of style is not limited to any boundaries. In 2021, bright options are also acceptable, for example, for a football match or in a patriotic style.

"This is a challenge to society"

“It’s very cool that you can draw anything you want on your nails, this is an endless opportunity for creative realization,” says the head of the editorial office of a large Russian publishing house, Kirill (the hero asked not to name the name of the publishing house). “I really like that a bright manicure is a little flirtation with society, walking on the edge between masculinity and femininity, which is unusual for men in our culture.”

Kirill first thought about bright nail polish after watching an interview with Yuri Dudu by the Russian group IC3PEAK, where they also discussed the topic of manicure. “The first time I did everything possible on my nails,” Kirill recalls. — I had both foil and geometry, thank God, ten fingers, so there was room to disperse. I liked it very much. This is a story about “Go big or go home” (all or nothing).”

Kirill’s observation about the blurring of the line between masculinity and femininity through manicure is correct: it seems that nail art is indeed not an isolated phenomenon, but part of a broader movement for equality and erasing gender boundaries. It is worth remembering that more and more Western designers are offering an agender style of clothing (not divided into male and female), often releasing guys in skirts on the catwalks, and beauty brands are launching lines of decorative cosmetics for men.

“Nowadays, individuality and the possibility of self-expression are in trend. You can see how at the same fashion show a model wears a new makeup for each outfit. Nail art is also a way of self-expression. This is a story about how everyone wants to be beautiful. This is a desire to equalize rights, but to do it delicately,” explains Karina Andreeva.

Fresh solutions for men's manicure from nail experts

This year, recognized luminaries of the nail industry offer stylish fashionistas the following options:

negative space framed by dark or colored paints. The shape depends entirely on the design chosen;
drawings, abstractions on a transparent background;
strict minimalism with speaking symbols;
sliders and stickers for youth and special occasions;
imitation tattoo;
plain surface.

It is quite possible to combine different techniques and creatively rethink them. So, the trend this season is the “different hands” style, which can also be adopted by men.

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Author's design of men's manicure

The execution depends entirely on the imagination and professionalism of the master, as well as the preferences and style of the man. The following solutions are relevant:

expressive drawings in youth style - punk, gothic, metal, rock, hip-hop;
strictly laconic geometric shapes, stripes and dots in dark, steel-gray, red shades;
complex pictograms, cells, inscriptions;
moderate use of traditional techniques - stretched French, mirror or pearl rubbing, simple black French and moon manicure;
the most catchy, interesting symbols, emoticons;
topical, threatening or ironic symbolism, pictures.

At the same time, experienced nail artists use not only black and gray colors on a transparent background. Bright yellow, sand, red tones and even catchy neon colors are in use. You can use the whole range of military style shades.

Black tones of men's manicure

For men, black is the natural, most sought-after color. Often there are nails with a plain matte or glossy finish, without decoration. However, this solution may seem boring. New ideas will help to dilute the monochrome palette:

combination with acid-bright yellow, light green, red varnishes;
contrasting white graphics in the form of spiders, webs, symbols, images, stripes;
black holes on a transparent base;
modest black circles, ovals and dots, stripes;
complex cells, hieroglyphs;
foil elements or sparkles.

Minimalism on nails

You can easily stick to the good old traditions of men's manicure - just well-polished nails with a delicate, invisible coating. Or an unobtrusive French jacket. This will be true minimalism in this case.

Men's manicure ideas with drawings

Design with a variety of images is the best tool for self-expression. It is usually applied by the hands of a master. But, if you lack artistic abilities, you can get by with ready-made solutions in the form of stamps, stencils, and stickers. The content of the drawings is selected individually, depending on the man’s everyday style, habits and external characteristics. In fashion:

religious and mystical signs, fantasy motifs;
graffiti, skillfully drawn letters, initials, entire inscriptions;
schematically depicted heads of animals, birds, cars, buildings;
black or red graphics on a “bare” background;
superheroes, road and warning signs;
technical, software symbols.

The emphasis is placed on several nails, or they draw their own picture on each.

Fact about manicure

Typing on a keyboard has a beneficial effect on the nail plates. They receive a light massage, which improves blood circulation and stimulates their growth.

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Execution technology

Some may think that men's manicure is a simple task, but it is not. Of course, many steps are removed that are completely natural for women - it’s unlikely that anyone will ask you to give them extensions, gel polish or anything like that. But men's manicure requires attention to the basis, to the therapeutic and hygienic purpose of manicure, first of all.

How to do a men's manicure and what are the main steps?

Stages of salon nail care for men:

Steaming nails in a bath with product. Nails are fragile but rough—to work with them, you need to prepare your nails and skin.
Skin care around the nail. Rough skin around the nail plate will negate the results of any manicure, so the master will definitely remove it.
Cuticle care. The neat appearance of the nail depends on the cuticle. There are two ways to get rid of it - removal, that is, cutting, and pushing the skin back into the hole immediately after softening. The second method is more suitable for men, since the cuticle holes are not wide and deep enough, and are also full of blood vessels.
Length control. Few men know how to use a nail file, so the main task of the master is to create a shape within which the nail will grow further if it is not broken.
Strengthening and restoration. A man’s nail does not need to grow in length or have a “glossy” look; a healthy, natural color and protection from splitting will be enough. Most strengthening manicure oils can easily cope with these tasks.

Important! It is better for a man to find one, permanent master who will know the degree of vulnerability of his nail plates and will not allow cuts or do unnecessary things.

By performing these simple procedures at least once a month, you can keep your hands in order without much difficulty, eliminating minor cosmetic imperfections (for example, dirt under your nails).

Minimalist pictures in men's manicure

Minimalism is a universal style that is used by men of any age, with different social status and hobbies. It is enough to put a few small dark or colored dots to add a special mood to your manicure. The trend is geometry, made with thin, almost invisible strokes, as well as a modest jacket in flesh tones. Or you can leave a completely free space under a glossy or matte clear coat.

Kinds

The variety of this procedure is not so great - decorative elements that will make a man look stupid are excluded.

Very rarely, you may need a coating that matches your skin tone if your nails look painful or there has been some kind of injury, but not every man wants to take care of polish that can chip at any time, so this is very rare.

Typically, when working with a male client, masters adhere to a simple manicure with only basic parameters.

Standard

Quick steaming and working with scissors - the master trims the old skin around the plate, removes the cuticle, trims the corners of the nails if they are too long:

Such a manicure or pedicure is cheap and usually does not even include strengthening nail care - such a service should be negotiated separately.
Does not require any special skills or any additional equipment. All that is required is to maintain a harmonious and identical shape of all nails.

The video explains how to do a classic men's manicure:

Hardware

It has long gained popularity among the female audience, as it is considered safer .

Some people are wary of getting their nails done at salons because of the tools they use on dozens or hundreds of people every day. They can be understood - through cuts, which even the most experienced specialists carelessly leave, you can become infected with very unpleasant and serious diseases, for example, hepatitis.

For hardware manicure, you need a special machine with different grinding attachments:

With the help of these attachments, all the work is done, except for leveling the shape with a nail file.
The entire procedure is done on a dry nail, without steaming.
Hardware manicure and pedicure are suitable for a man with relatively strong nails that can withstand the entire process without a preliminary bath.

The technique for performing a hardware manicure for men is shown in the video:

French

If a man can and wants to grow his nails to a short, gender-acceptable length, the master can offer him a French style:

This manicure involves visual separation of the nail plate from the part of the nail that grows further.
It is known that the nail on the plate is darker than the keratinized remains that are not adjacent to the soft tissues.
Using the contrast of these colors, the master creates a neat and attractive nail.

Suitable for men with at least a minimum length of nails who want to wear a certain shape. The service is the least popular in comparison with the previous ones, but there is still a demand for it.

Important! Many men are embarrassed by the fact of visiting a master, but there is no reason for this - salons have long ceased to be an exclusively women's place. Each master has at least 2-3 regular male clients who simply make sure their hands look neat.

If you are not sure what type of manicure you need, tell the specialist honestly - the professional will identify what you need in a few minutes.

Stickers in men's manicure

A great way to diversify your nail design and add something creative, unusual or humorous to your usual look. In men's manicure, stickers in the following themes are usually used:

cryptograms, hieroglyphs, letters of the Russian and English alphabet in different fonts;
emoticons, ancient amulets, zodiac signs;
imitation tattoos;
silhouettes of people, animals, household items;
cars and motorcycles, flames;
portraits, buildings, famous monuments;
symbols of sports brands, teams;
names of rock bands, names of performers;
messages with meaning.

Stickers combine perfectly with matte and glossy finishes and negative space. In order not to turn nail design into overloaded chaos, usually pictures are applied to a couple of accent fingers, leaving the rest monochromatic. It is also permissible to use abstract strokes and spots.

Stamping in men's manicure

An extremely simple and accessible way for everyone to decorate your nails in an individual, special style. A variety of designs are applied to metal plates using laser engraving. The deeper the embossing, the better and clearer the design on the nails. There are different shapes of plates: disks, slabs, curly hearts, rhombuses, hexagons and others. The pictures are transferred to the surface of the nails using special stamps. They can be plain or colored, with different themes:

spectacular abstractions in the style of pop art, op art;
“talking” designs that tell about the owner’s character, hobbies, mood and activities;
artistic images that carry a certain meaning;
inscriptions and letters;
schematic pictures;
strict, laconic patterns or ornaments;
monograms, hieroglyphs, symbols.

In order not to overload the design, it is recommended to decorate with stamping one or two fingers on each hand, or all five on one. The remaining nails are decorated with a single-color varnish or left with a natural, transparent background.

What tools and materials will be useful?

If your man decided to get a manicure and asked you about it, then your task is to prepare the necessary cosmetics and tools to make the procedure as quick and simple as possible. Despite the fact that manicure for the stronger sex is much easier to perform than for the weaker sex, you need to prepare no less a set of tools.

You will need: - a fine abrasive file for natural nails. It is desirable that it be plastic or glass. It is better not to use a metal one, because by filing the nail in different directions, the tool can easily damage nails that are not accustomed to such manipulations; - buff; - an orange stick or pusher to push back the cuticle; - a small bowl for spa treatments; — a special product for softening the cuticle; — transparent matte varnish to strengthen the plate (optional); - soft towel or paper napkins; - softening hand cream.

Matte coating for men's manicure

The matte surface of nails is the undisputed leader this season. The velvety texture mutes the color shades and makes them more noble. For men, this solution is more preferable and comfortable than the catchy shine of gloss or dazzling bright colors. Therefore, both for everyday style and for special occasions, most representatives of the stronger sex prefer a matte top. And nail designers offer hundreds of fun, relevant solutions for every taste:

monochrome black or in restrained noble tones - burgundy, steel gray, swamp green. As accents, a glossy tone-on-tone gel polish is used to highlight the “smile” line, holes, or apply modest patterns;
a combination of black with light gray or pearl, other colors suitable for the image;
negative space with any color, in the form of holes, geometric shapes;
schematic graphics or inscriptions on a transparent background in combination with a monochrome or two-color palette. Not only gloomy dark tones are used, but also pure red, yellow-sand, beige, and nude shades.

World cinema and pop stars, extravagant personalities often appear in public with nails decorated with bright, rich colors.

“Manicure is the embodiment of my fantasy”

“When men saw me on the street with painted nails, they were shocked, and then they said: what’s cool, they asked where I did it,” Anatoly, lead singer of the NoNative group, says in an interview with the BBC.

Anatoly lives in Moscow. He painted his nails for the first time about a year ago as an experiment. Since then, black coating with hieroglyphs, metallic stripes or any other nail design has become an integral part of his image.

“Nail art is a way to convey the inner world. I can't come up with a design for a pair of jeans, but I can come up with a design for my nails. Everything you see on my hands is the embodiment of my fantasy, my vision.”

A Google search in Moscow will reveal dozens of nail salons and barber shops offering nail treatment and design services for men.

Gallery of the most interesting and fashionable ideas for men's manicure

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